Stray Bullets Hitting New Homes In Santaquin Subdivision

SANTAQUIN, Utah – Residents who live near property owned by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said they are worried about target shooters after cars and homes were damaged by stray bullets.

There is nothing wrong with target shooting in Utah, especially in sparsely populated areas. 

However, some popular shooting ranges now have people living nearby. 

“We’re frustrated down here,” said Nichole Holt. “We need to be able to feel safe in our neighborhood and have our kids be safe.”

Holt lives in a new subdivision on the south end of Santaquin in Utah County.

Last week, she and her husband found a bullet in their backyard.

“We didn’t dig it up. It was fresh and it was just sitting right on top of the dirt,” said Holt. “That bullet had to travel a long way to get there.”

It is the latest of several similar incidents in this neighborhood, including the time a pickup truck was shot while parked outside of a home.

Last year, Holt’s sister-in-law said she was thankful she was away from home when a bullet flew through her house.

“It was on my side of the bed, normally where I stand to get dressed, to fold laundry, and about my head height,” said Nicole Holt, who also lives in the neighborhood. “It was scary to think how fast it could all go away.”

There are nearby places where people legally shoot because they’re on DWR property and more than 600 feet away from homes.

However, with new homes nearby, and more being built, it’s more populated than it used to be.

“The development of that property has changed, so it’s now within the range of those firearms they’re producing nowadays,” said Santaquin Police Corporal Mike Wall. “I don’t think it’s intentional.” 

Santaquin police said they now have six cases in the past couple of years of a house being shot.

“We’ve been told about more, but we can’t confirm those cases,” Wall said. “As far as we know, there haven’t been any injuries, but there’s definitely those potential injuries there.”

Many target shooters are responsible and check to make sure there’s nothing important on the other side of where they are shooting.

 This could either be a case of not realizing there are new homes in the area or shooters who aren’t as responsible.

Just this past Monday, Santaquin city leaders contacted the DWR about possibly putting up no shooting signs or come up with a plan to make sure no more houses are hit with stray bullets.

“Does someone need to get hurt or killed before something happens? If nothing changes, I’m sure something is going to happen,” Holt said.

Neighbors said they’re not against shooting, just not in the direction of their homes.

 “We own guns,” Holt said. “I don’t have an issue with that in any way, shape, or form. I just want people to be responsible.”